Sumit Galhotra

Sumit Galhotra is the research associate for CPJ's Asia program. He served as CPJ's inaugural Steiger Fellow and has worked for CNN International, Amnesty International USA, and Human Rights Watch. He has reported from London, India, and Israel and the Occupied Territories, and specializes in human rights and South Asia.

2012

For the safety of journalists and other people on the
streets protesting injustice, Indian police must begin in earnest to address
how they respond to demonstrations. One journalist died covering protests that have
been taking place across the country following the gang rape of a 23-year old
female medical student on a Delhi bus on December 16. The government's response
to these protests, in which more than 100 people have been injured, has raised
eyebrows across the world.

Haider Ali, an eyewitness
to the 2011 murder of Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar, was gunned down on Sunday, two days before he was set to testify in the trial of five
suspects. The murder sent shockwaves across Pakistan--one of the deadliest
countries in the world for
journalists and one of the worst in bringing the killers to justice. According
to the prosecutor in the case, Ali had identified several suspects as being involved
in Babar's murder in a recent statement before a judicial magistrate. His killing
was the latest in a series of murders that have targeted people linked to the Babar
investigation. Five others--including eyewitnesses, police officers, an informant,
and a family member of an investigator--have also been murdered.

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It
is one step forward and two steps back in Pakistan's restive Baluchistan
province. The nation's highest court has acknowledged the dangerous climate
journalists face in Baluchistan, but it has also affirmed a directive that only
adds to the pressure cooker conditions that journalists work under.

After intense public pressure, the Maharashtra state
government last week dropped the charge of sedition against Indian cartoonist
Aseem Trivedi. However, Trivedi still faces other charges as his case resumes
tomorrow at the Bombay High court.

The 25-year old cartoonist, who was arrested on September 8, could have been sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted of sedition. He still faces up to three years in prison for other charges including violation of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act and Information Technology Act, his lawyer Vijay Hiremath told CPJ by e-mail.

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Journalists, like many others in Pakistan, have spoken out
strongly since the Taliban attempted to kill the teenage Malala Yousafzai on
October 9. The Taliban, in return, are threatening the media over their
coverage, according to journalists and news reports.

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A couple dozen activists gathered this past week in New York
City's Union Square to protest the imprisonment of freelance journalist Lingaram Kodopi and his
aunt Soni Sori, who were
arrested one year ago in India.

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The government of Indian Kashmir has a long record of
failing to respond to physical attacks on the press. This week, the possibility
that websites like YouTube and Facebook were blocked indicated that online
freedoms, too, are under threat.

This week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh marked his
80th birthday. He spent the day, Wednesday, in the company of family
and at public events, according to news
reports. "There are no celebrations.
He prefers to be with his family in the morning--then work as usual," Singh's
spokesman told the media.

Although it is the world's largest democracy, India
has retained its colonial-era sedition law. But with a national debate ensuing after
the arrest of 25-year-old political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on the antiquated
sedition charge and others, members of the Indian government have been forced
to do some soul-searching.